Hot Rod Power Tour cars, spectators arriving in downtown Muskegon

MLiveThis pink car is one of thousands filling up downtown Muskegon streets and parking lots Sunday for the Hot Rod Power Tour.

MUSKEGON, MI – Some of the 4,000-plus high-end hot rods and other fancy cars have arrived in downtown Muskegon as part of the national Hot Rod Power Tour.

The second stop on the week-long tour covering seven U.S. cities, Muskegon is welcoming thousands of hot rods, their owners and potentially tens of thousands of spectators Sunday with plenty of automotive-related activities and sunny skies.

The downtown streets and parking lots are quickly filling up with cars and spectators.

“Our expectations are probably going to be overwhelmed,” said John VanWyck, one of the local organizers of the Muskegon stop and related regional Cruising the Lakeshore car show. “Mother Nature has cooperated.”

MLiveSpectators check out some of the hot rods parked along West Western Avenue in downtown Muskegon on Sunday.

The Hot Rod Power Tour, put on by Hot Rod Magazine, returned to Muskegon for a second consecutive year, a rarity in the history of the event that is a favorite of “car guys.” The world-renowned tour of high-end hot rods, street rods, muscle cars and custom trucks drew favorable reactions from spectators, tour participants and the national organizers in its first-ever stop in Muskegon last year.

While many of the cars are already on display in downtown, more are expected. The actual event is tentatively scheduled to begin at about 1 p.m., featuring some autocross fun runs, plenty of car-related vendors and thousands of hot rods to check out.

“The actual lead cars for the Hot Rod Power Tour are still about an hour out,” VanWyck said in an interview with The Chronicle at about noon. “There is a steady flow coming in now, though.”

Cruising the Lakeshore Muskegon, a more regional event, was conducted Friday and Saturday in conjunction with the national tour. Local organizers plan to continue the regional event next year even though it is highly unlikely that the national tour would return to a city three straight years.

The 18th annual Hot Rod Power Tour started in Detroit before arriving in Muskegon Sunday. The tour is set to end in Arlington, Texas.